About Me

Synopsis: This is a cautionary tale. A seriously disturbed couple find the charming, old ruin of a Queen Anne Victorian in Russellville, Arkansas, and buy it for $1.00. They tore the roof off, cut it in half, and had it moved to some land they owned sixteen miles away because they didn't know any better. Since then, they have hired and fired contractors, had all of their tools stolen, re-wired, re-plumbed, insulated, and essentially rebuilt the entire house. Their only problem is that after four years it still isn't finished. Now they are tired, broke, and wonder what in the hell it is they've done to themselves. And, it's haunted.

Art: From time to time, I receive requests for my art. If you would like to look at more of my art, go to The Failed Artist. If you would like to buy my art, email me. I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have. Thanks!

Additional Links

Friday, January 20, 2006

Houseblog Archeology

Here is a question for all the computer demi-gods out there: What is the lifespan of a blog?

I know as long as I am alive & posting and the internet & Blogger are not destroyed in a nuclear apocalypse that www.thedevilqueen.blogspot.com will continue. What happens when I do die presuming that the internet and Blogger live on? In 50 or 100 years, will some future owner of the Devil Queen decide to research the house and find this blog buried in cyberspace? Are houseblogs historical resources or documents for the future?

4 Comments:

We're coming up on 7 years with our site...and still going. I have also wondered where it will all end. But since I don't see a real end to the restoration work needed around here, I guess the site will go on and on. Perhaps slowing down a bit in intensity as the projects become less full time.

I think you're definitely building a record for the future. And it's not at all outlandish to think that archeaologists may be looking to your blog for info!

I visited our county's historical museum several years ago. They maintain folders on all of the old houses in the area. In the folder for our house was a ream of pages printed out from our web site. :)

Interesting dialogue. As an archaeologist, I agree that Blogs will continue to serve as a valuable record to future historians, researchers, and even archaeologists.

When doing my research, I am constantly consulting 18th and 19th century farm records that include information not much different than contents found in many Blogs. Farm journals, diaries, and account books were used the same way 200 years ago that Blogs are used today)--as a way to keep records.

This discussion also brings up another interesting point that archivists are grappling with as well. The digital age has brought about a complete transformation in communication. Writing a letter, keeping a journal, heck, even reading the newspaper, are activities that one can now do online--leaving no paper trail (for future historians to study). Many archivists are debating over how records of email correspondence should be kept. Example, Presidential libraries are repositories for the official papers of that particular President. Pres. Libraries have nearly every memo, letter, speech, etc from an administration. However, now, in this day and age, email is the primary means of communication,so should someone make a point to print out every email that a gets sent during an administration to include in the "official papers?" This is similar to the debate that occurred about entering transcripts of Presidential Tapes (ie Nixon) into the official record.

This digital transformation also has its drawbacks. Paper memos don't get destroyed by worms, viruses, and computer meltdowns.

Ok, well thats my two cents. Very interesting topic. I truly think that researchers 200 or 300 years from now will be consulting your house blogs in much the same way that I use farm journals and other such records to do my research.